waiting

6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. 7And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. 8Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
9It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. 10For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
-Isaiah 25:6-10

"I'm waiting for dinner," one of our guests said at Bible study tonight when prompted with the question "what are we waiting for." There is both humor and deep truth in this answer.  The question meant to be answered on a deeper level, yet dinner was happening in about 30 minutes.  This reflects a deep truth about waiting...it's hard!

The upcoming lectionary text for this Sunday contains a passage from Isaiah that speaks of a feast that is to be waited on (Incidentally enough, I preached a sermon on this for class last spring). This feast is greater than what we can possibly imagine. It is a celebration of the final victory of the Lord after a long period of anxious waiting.

Andrew Bird, one of the greatest and most creative singer/songwriter/whistler/violinists of our time, has a song about a celebratory feast at the end of times called "tables and chairs."



Hope is the operative word here. Hope for a bountiful feast. Hope for your first meal of the day. Hope for peace. Hope for equality. Hope for truth and justice to prevail for those who are oppressed.  The results of this wait for hope is a celebratory feast for all to enjoy.

Our meals at Broad Street Ministry (particularly the No Barriers Dinner) are seen to many as a bountiful feast.  The makeup of race and socio-economic class in the room give a taste of what a feast in the kingdom of God looks like.  However, peace, equality, truth, and justice have not prevailed yet.  There is always a level of anxiousness in our meals at BSM.  We all recognize how rough our world is.  Are we simply to just sit back and wait for things to get better before we can celebrate?

No.  This wait is one of action.  The hebrew origin of the word for "wait" here is "qava," which in its verb form here stands as an intensive, repeated action.  Thus, a more accurate translation is "to look eagerly for." This hardly sounds like sitting and waiting to me!  It's a reminder that we are in the "Kingdom Between the Times." The kingdom is here, yet not completely.  Christ has come to liberate us from sin, yet problems still exist in our world.  We have responsibility in this world to work towards peace, equality, truth, and justice.  Then, when we just can't wait any more, the kingdom of God we have hoped for all our lives comes to free us from oppression and sin for good.

What does this kingdom look like?  Who knows!  That's where hope comes into play.  Yet a bountiful feast is a wonderful way to imagine the joy found in this time.  May we continue to work for the kingdom!

I know we're gonna meet someday in the crumbled financial institutions of this land
There will be tables and chairs
Pony rides and dancing bears
There'll even be a band
'cause listen after the fall there'll be no more countries
No currencies at all
We're gonna live on our wits
Throw away survival kits
Trade butterfly knives for adderal
And that's not all
Woah!
There will be snacks, there will
There will be snacks, there will
There will be snacks!
-Andrew Bird

ordy shmords

Just want to give a brief THANK YOU to all my friends and family who have kept me in thoughts and prayers over the ordination exams.  It's a long and tedious process.

I just found out today that I PASSED all of them!  This is exciting news and I know this would not be possible without the help of all of you who read this blog who have helped me grow into who I am today.

So once again, THANKS!  I love you all.

blind

46They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 47When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” 50So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” 52Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.
Mark 10:46-52

Who are we not seeing?

I had a lot of exposure to this text over the past week.  First, I led our staff devotions by doing a lectio divina with the text, to explore what we hear this text call us to be and do.  Next, I was in the weekly Bible Study where we studied the text.  Finally, this was the text used for the sermons today.

The Bible studies are what always tend to stick out the most to me out of all others.  This fact is quite a clear interpretation of this particular text!  The interpretations you hear during the "no holds barred" Bible studies come from Bartimaeuses in our community.  These are the people that are told to be silent, not to sleep in parks, not to ask people for money or help.  Sometimes they are told, directly or indirectly, not to come to church (coats and ties are hard to come by!).

Have you seen a Bartimaeus?  Possibly.  Have you told him or her to be quiet?  Probably.  We all have at some point.  Little do we know that this only means we are the actual blind ones.  In this text, it is the one silenced by others that is praised for his faith.

A dear member of the BSM community (who will go by "Joe" to protect his identity) spoke up during our Bible study to point out the situation of this beggar.  The beggar was on the side of the street, in the middle of everything.  Joe mentioned how even though the beggar couldn't see, he could still hear the commotion going on all around him.  Joe told us that he has hearing problems and would struggle with even that.  Joe had been silenced his entire life and was having trouble relating to a beggar who had enough faith to petition Jesus for healing.  This was a sad re-affirmation of what our culture has done to the Bartimaeuses among us.

This scripture reminds us that there is deep faith and an example to be learned in the Bartimaeuses in our communities.  Perhaps it is time we stop silencing them and give them a chance to speak up!

Are we the real blind ones in this story?

Breaking bread, loving baseball

In case you missed it, the Phillies just won the National League and on Wednesday, will play either the Yankees or Angels in the World Series.  I've never been in the midst of a city where a sports team has had a major win.  I had the exciting opportunity to watch the game last night at BSM, right in center city.  Upon their win, the city came alive as everyone rushed center city and preceded to cause mass chaos.  Although the World Series win is still around the corner and last year's playoff drought busting win was much greater, the experience was still pretty exciting!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a born and bred Braves fan, which means I will cheer for them till the day I die.  However, I think any true national league fan would agree that come playoff season, whichever team can beat the Yankees is the team to cheer for (save perhaps the mets or marlins)!  Beyond this, there's just something about baseball to cheer for the home team (when they're not playing your team of course).

Now why have I been talking about Baseball for 2 paragraphs?  Because I have witnessed the effects of sports on the homeless community.  Not only is it a source of common conversation, it is also a source of hope for many.  There has been a lot of joy in Philadelphia lately due to the run of the Phillies.  Many of our homeless friends can't stop talking about it.  I had wondered where they have been able to experience these games, only to learn it is by crowding around a stereo or looking into store windows from the street!  This is dedication!

Breaking Bread is a weekly service provided at BSM.  Lunch is served, along with several services not often provided elsewhere.  Today, I assisted guests in our clothing closet, picking out donated items.  Then, I assisted in the therapeutic arts program for the day - decorating pumpkins.  Positive energy carried the day, as our guests helped each other pick out outfits and resort to the days of childhood arts class during the pumpkin decorating (picture below not from the actual event).

So many food and service social programs seem to not give much attention to the mood of their guests.  Today, I witnessed what it means to do so.  People living on the margins carry a LOT with them, literally and figuratively.  Giving the opportunity for conversation and creative expression can go a LONG way to help them feel more human once again and give the positive energy needed to carry the day.  Let us never forget that Jesus was homeless and called us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  Cliche, yes, yet so vital and significant each time we hear it.  People deserve more that just a meal.  They deserve a chance to be human for a few hours.

Talking baseball with some homeless guys is very human indeed.  We can all unite around the joy of America's greatest pastime and the pride for a city that has loved its team (at least recently!).  I know this joy of sports is not always a given thing.  It's rare to be in a city that can celebrate sports.  Beyond this, we should always be wary of a theology of competition.  However, for our purposes at Broad Street, the ability to unite around a subject that gives us unity is a chance to be human together, as God created us.

Never thought I'd say this...but Go Phillies!  For this year at least...

Psalms of the Street

ATTENTION: BLOG NAME HAS CHANGED TO "www.communitytrailblazer.blogspot.com"
IT IS NO LONGER: "www.psalmsofthestreet..."
I know this may be confusing, so PLEASE spread the word.  I will explain the reasoning in this post.

What does Psalms of the Street mean anyway?

I had a GREAT visit to Richmond this weekend, visiting my friends at Union Presbyterian Seminary (formerly Union-PSCE).  I was very excited to share of my experience thus far, perhaps because I knew my peers could relate to and find some hope in my experience of such a vibrant urban church community.

As I explained my internship over and over again, I began to notice threads in the way I described it.  The most common thread was my description of a church full of people from ALL walks of life.  The more I described the demographic makeup of the Broad Street Ministry community the more I realized the significance of having rich, poor, young, and old in one building worshipping and fellowshipping together.  As has been often mentioned, this demographic makeup is truly a glimpse of the kingdom of God.

I have been writing about Broad Street Ministry in my blog for over a month now, and only today did I realize I had been doing a great disservice by calling my blog "psalms of the street."  See, I originally took the name from the bulletin on my first day of worshipping at Broad Street.  I realized later that "psalms of the street" is the prayer card ministry that seeks to represent the voice of the community.  These cards, written by people from every walk of life, are collected, prayed over, and put into a blog in order to express the voices of those who are voiceless.  This blog is called Scribblings in the Sand.  I invite you to view this blog, with the understanding that these prayers come DIRECTLY from the community at worship, represent people from every walk of life, and are meant to be treated with great discretion (personal information has been removed) and utmost respect.  Christ came to give a voice to the voiceless, love to the unloved.  Broad Street Ministry hopes to carry this desire out as the body of Christ, and prayer cards serve as an opportunity for those without a voice to be represented.

My role at Broad Street Ministry is NOT to represent the community  myself.  The community must be able to speak for themselves, since most of them NEVER have this opportunity.  Therefore, my blog name is changing to:

communitytrailblazer.blogspot.com

My role at Broad Street Ministry is to be the pastoral welcoming presence to those who wish to become a part of the community.  I meet with people who contact us wishing to volunteer or at least get to know the community better.  I learn their stories, discern their gifts, and help plug them into the community.  My role is the pastoral associate for community trailblazing.

When you read my blog, I hope you realize that I am only a piece of a larger community that greatly desires to be heard.  So I urge you to also read Scribblings in the Sand, and be shaped by the prayers of this community!

By the way, this picture game up in google when I image searched "community trailblazing." This lady is pretty awesome:

Measuring Success

"The church is a business" people say.  This is often said with some hesitancy.  Why is this?  Perhaps because they know this is not the way it is meant to be.

What does a business do?  They are built upon economic models: Money comes in - services are offered.  This is built on supply and demand.  The more the people demand services, the more the price of supply increases, forming economic equilibrium.

Putting the church into this model:  The people demand a faith community that can give them what they want.  In return they pay money for these "services." These services must be good quality so people can get what they think they paid for.  In order to increase income, a business-model church must grow its base.  Thus the number of members becomes important.  For better quality service to be provided, more members must be brought in to increase income, and thus, production.  Pastors are placed in the epicenter of this model.  They are paid by the congregation to provide services (preaching, worship leadership, pastoral care, etc.).  If these services are inadequate, the pastor can be fired.

It's disturbing and probably not completely accurate to describe the church in this way, but when you get down to the core of it, it's not that far from the truth.  American churches are an American economic business model.

Is this faithful?  Is this right?  Can it ever be different?

Our American culture is defined by numbers.  When I was youth director at Second Presbyterian Church in Richmond, I couldn't tell you how many times someone would say "how many youth do you have?" This question frustrates me to no end.  Firstly, how do you "have" youth?  It's not like we capture them and put them in a box so we can show off to people.  Secondly, what does it matter?  So what if I have 5 or 50 youth in my program.  Since when did bringing in a lot of youth for your program prove that you are effectively influencing the lives of young people and empowering them to do God's work?

Eugene Peterson in Under the Unpredictable Plant speaks of how we often measure success in churches by growth.  Growth, he says, "is biological, not an arithmetical metaphor.  Growth in biology has something to do with timing, passivity, waiting, proportion, maturity.  There is a proper size to each thing." Peterson reminds us that there must be an understanding that more is not always better.  Success, growth, in churches can never be judged by size.

I have been learning a lot from a church context that has no "members." Sure there are problems.  It's hard to keep up with people, hard to track giving, hard to appoint leadership.  However, the payoff is a system that is no longer focused on being successful.  They can look instead, to be more faithful to the gospel.  It's not a perfect system at Broad Street, there are some definite benefits to having "members," particularly for reasons of leadership and pastoral care.  However, it's refreshing to realize that, as my boss and pastor here, Bill, said, "We don't get to keep people.  We just get to hold them for a while." The church is not meant to be a country club.  The church is community.

Bill has also picked up on this notion of numbers-success in an article he wrote for Insights from the Underside." Not to be confused with The Bible from the Underside, a popular Frances Taylor Gench class.  Bill refers to this notion of success as the "Cultural Success Index." He reminds us that we must always be cautious of falling into this worldly model as a way of running churches.  If this can happen, Bill visions a church where, "Preoccupation with membership roles may be replaced with a passionate pursuit of understanding about why certain demographics are mission from the communion's gathering...imagination would trump implementation.  Depth would trounce growth.  Disciplined discernment would be valued over efficiency and 'effectiveness'." (46)

A church needs to operate as a business in some sense.  Money.  We can't ignore that HUGE elephant in the room.  A church needs to be able to have some lights to turn on and some heat to run in the winter.  This issue is what makes things difficult.  Money always makes things difficult.  Yet, since when did we let money guide our decisions?  Didn't Christ tell us to give it all to the poor anyway?

It's a messy situation that no one has figured out yet.  However, it's a situation that calls us to be faithful to the gospel.  We MUST constantly be aware of how we view ourselves as the community of God and avoid defining ourselves according to our American economic consumerist model.

How can we break down this horrible myth that a church is a business?  How can we look at success differently?

Is our church only about supply and demand?

I leave you with a song from Amos Lee, a Philly native:

Coming in to land

Greetings family and friends!

I can hardly believe I've been here for a month already!  Time has really flown by here in the city.  Even though I've been working at Broad Street for 4 weeks, my role is finally taking shape now.  This makes some sense in that I've moved my whole life to a completely new setting and was thrown into a completely unique situation to explore my pastoral vocation.  I'm getting to the point in the job where things are starting to click.  To use a metaphor I thought of the other day, I am an airplane that has finally hit the runway after hovering with its wheels down for a little while.  So what's this runway look like?

My new title at Broad Street Ministry will be the "Pastoral Associate for Community Trailblazing."  Like that title?  Came up with it myself.  Using "pastoral associate"is a term applied to seminary interns affirming their role within the communities of Broad Street and Arch Street Pres.  "Community trailblazing" is a title that emerged out of much thought.  A large part of my role at BSM will be meeting with new volunteers, welcoming them into the community, learning about them, discovering their gifts and interests, and then helping them find where they can be best involved at Broad Street.  There is an intentionality at BSM of welcoming and encouraging ideas, and helping them become realities if possible.  The Spirit works through whoever the Spirit chooses.

Beyond this specific role, I will be attending to pastoral needs of BSM and Arch Street Presbyterian.  I will also have opportunities to participate in and lead worship.  Both opportunities are very exciting and filled with the bright future the Lord has for both locations.

Oh yeah, and I'm working on a temporary website for arch street presbyterian.  Check it!

Also, I apologize for neglecting to speak of a significant part of this internship - the seminary house.  I am sharing an apartment with 2 very talented Princeton Seminary students.  In the apartment above us is a married couple serving as our 'pastors in residence and their adorable baby.  We are intentional about sharing a meal once a week to talk about our experiences together.  They're a wonderful group and I'm sure we'll have some great adventures this year!

Regarding blogging, I am beginning to fall in to some sort of schedule.  I will make a sincere attempt to post on Sunday and Wednesday nights, following activities.  Beyond those days, it will most likely be random.  PLEASE share thoughts and comments if possible.  I desire dialogue on certain topics.  We learn from one another and I am constantly curious to what you all think about certain topics that are raised.

Thanks again for the love and support you have sent me.  Come visit sometime this year and see what it's all about!

I leave you on a lighter note...with some good ol' BBC religious humor:


Peace,
Mike

eye of the needle

17As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'" 20He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth." 21Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 22When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

23 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" 24And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." 26They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?" 27Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."

Do we cringe when we read this passage?

I imagine there may be some cringing for those who believe in a literal interpretation of scripture.  Have you sold everything you own yet?  If you haven't, you won't enter the kingdom of God!  This is what said interpretation may read...

Taking this verse contextually and metaphorically still may cause some cringing.  How far do we take this statement?  Can you have wealth and follow Christ?

Regardless, this was a VERY unique passage to study in our "no holds barred Bible study" at BSM.  Remember, we've always got a few in this who are homeless!  It's a very unique context that is beginning to rock my world.

As we gathered to discuss this difficult passage, we began to talk about what it means to "sell all you have to the poor." One key point was made by noticing Jesus "loved him" before answering, which points to the fact that Christ knew this man and what he needed to do.  This command was specific to this person.  His wealth had clouded his ability to love his neighbor, so he was thus instructed to give it to the poor - the people who need it most.

There is a popular idea about this metaphor of a camel going through the eye of a needle that refers to some busy gate in Jerusalem called "the eye of the needle," where camels would have to remove baggage and go on their knees to get through.  True or not, there is still sacrifice involved.  As it is for us.  there must be things we must give up, sacrifice, in order to participate in the kingdom of God that is present and not yet.

A man in our Bible study group, who happened to be homeless, spoke up in the midst of this conversation.  "What do I give up?  I don't have anything?" There was a moment where all of us of privilege had nothing to say.  The same man then broke the silence, "I guess I give up my previous ways of thoughts and doing things that hold me back" (paraphrased).  What a RADICAL concept!  This man showed us a radical faith, that commits when you truly have nothing - not by your own volition, but by the crappy reality of poverty that plagues us.  He demonstrated a commitment to serve God out of nothing.  In some ways, this appears as an ideal to live for.  I believe in that moment, we all wished we could be more like him.

The end of this passage is a reminder to us that we should not be so concerned about the reality of our salvation.  "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible." We can only place our faith in God, and move beyond this speculation into dedicated service.

So if this should not be our focus, what should?

If this passage is any indication, it should be a willingness to serve the poor at the risk of being made uncomfortable, that we may truly understand what it is like to live as they do.

Still cringing?  I hope so.

p.s. the first picture is me riding my camel through the streets of Philly.  The second picture is from the always awesome Brick Testament

Motley Order

I just returned from our staff retreat at a Quaker retreat center!  I had a wonderful time getting to know the staff better.  We all returned with a new energy that will hopefully carry us well into this week!

I also played guitar and sang with the "Motley Order" choir, which was a great experience!  My visions and understanding of worship music has already been greatly altered from participation in this group.  Like many things at Broad Street, there is a great emphasis on the fact that everyone is a child of God and has gifts to share.  Beyond this, the choir music attempts to serve the great diversity of Broad Street with many different types of music.  Included in this are secular songs that help to interpret the meaning of the message for that particular week.  I've always been somewhat lukewarm about this, but seeing it done effectively and in a meaningful way is pretty convincing!  This is a song we did this week:

I'll reflect on more of this later.  I do what to direct you all to another project known as "the church is alive." We've been working hard on this website, with a goal to create deeper connectivity and communication within the church.  I did a posting today, taking from several of my posts on this blog.  Check it out and join the conversation!  There will be a chance soon for all people to participate in writing blog posts on this site as well.  Check it out and join the conversation!